AP Gov Chapters 7, 8 & 10

STUDY

PLAY

A politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology

Mass Media

Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, and other means of popular communication

Media Event

Events purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media are there

Press Conferences

Meetings of public officials with reporters

Investigative Journalism

The use of in depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams and schemes which at times puts the reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders

Print Media

Newspapers and magazines, as compared with broadcast media

Electronic Media

Television, radio, and the Internet, as compared with print media

Narrowcasting

As opposed to the traditional "broadcasting," the appeal to a narrow, particular audience by channels such as ESPN, MTV, and C-SPAN, which focus on a narrow particular interest

Selective Exposure

The process through which people consciously choose to get the news from information sources that have viewpoints compatible with their own

Chains

Groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over four-fifths of the nation's daily newspaper circulation

Beats

Specific locations from which news frequently emanates, such as Congress or the White House

Trial Balloons

An intentional news leak for the purpose of assessing the political reaction

Sound Bites

Short video clips of approximately 15 seconds; typically all that is shown from a politician's speech or activities on the nightly television news

Talking Head

A shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera; because this is visually unappealing, the major commercial networks rarely show a politician talking one-on-one for very long

Policy Agenda

The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actually involved in politics at any given point in time

Policy Entrepreneurs

People who invest their political "capital" in an issue. According to John Kingdon, a policy entrepreneur "could be in or out of government, in elected or appointed positions, in interest groups or research organizations"

Party Competition

The battle of the parties for control of public offices; ups and downs of the two major parties are one of the most important elements in American politics

Political Party

According to Anthony Downs, a "team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election"

Linkage Institutions

The channels through which people's concerns become political issues on the government's policy agenda; elections, political parties, interest groups, media

Rational-Choice Theory

A popular theory in political science to explain the actions of voters as well as politicians; it assumes that individuals act in their own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives

Party Image

The voter's perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for, such as conservatism or liberalism

Party Identification

A citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

Ticket Splitting

Voting with one party for one office and with another party for other offices; it has become the norm in American voting behavior

Party Machines

A type of political party organization that relies heavily on material inducements, such as patronage, to win votes and to govern

Patronage

One of the key inducements used by party machines; a patronage job, promotion, or contract is one that is given for political reasons rather than for merit or competence alone

Closed Primaries

Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party's candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty

Open Primaries

Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests

National Party Convention

A meeting of the delegates from each state to determine the party's nominee for president and write the party platform

National Committee

Keep party operating between conventions

National Chairperson

Person responsible for the day-to-day activities of the party and is usually hand-picked by the presidential nominee

Coalition

A group of individuals with a common interest upon which every political party depends

Critical Election

An electoral "earthquake" where new issues emerge, new coalitions replace old ones, and the majority party is often displaced by the minority party; these periods are sometimes marked by a national crisis and may require more than one election to bring about a new party era

Party Realignment

The displacement of the majority party by the minority party, usually during a critical election period

New Deal Coalition

A coalition forged by the Democrats, who dominated American politics from the 1930s to the 1960s; its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals

Party Dealignment

The gradual disengagement of people and politicians from the parties, as seen in part by shrinking party identification

Third Parties

Electoral contenders other than the two major parties; American third parties are not unusual, but they rarely win elections

Winner-Take-All System

An election system in which the candidate with the most votes wins all of them

Proportional Representation

An election system in which each party running receives the proportion of legislative seats corresponding to its proportion of the vote

Coalition Government

When two or more parties join together to form a majority in a national legislature

Responsible Party Model

A view about how parties should work, held by come political scientists; according to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates; once in office, parties would carry out their campaign promises

Blue Dog Democrats

Fiscally conservative Democrats who are mostly from the South and/or rural parts of the United States

Interest Group

An organization of people sharing a common interest or goal that seeks to influence the making of public policy

Pluralism

A theory of government that holds that open, multiple, and competing groups can check the asserted power by any one group

Elitism

A theory of government and politics contending that an upper-class elite will hold most of the power and thus in effect run the government

Hyperpluralism

A theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that government is weakened

Iron Triangles

Subgovernments are composed of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the government agency in charge of administering that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling that policy

Potential Group

All the people who might be interest group members because they share some common interest

Actual Group

The people in the potential group who actually join

Collective Good

Something of value (money, a tax write-off, prestige, clean air, and so on) that cannot be withheld from a group member

Free-Rider Problem

The problem faced by unions and other groups when people do not join because they can benefit from the group's activities without officially joining

Selective Benefits

Goods (such as information publications, travel discounts, and group insurance rates) that a group can restrict to those who pay their annual dues

Single-Issue Groups

Groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics

Lobbying

According to Lester Milbrath, a "communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his own behalf, directed to a governmental decisionmaker with the hope of influencing his decision"

Electioneering

Direct group involvement in the electoral process. Groups can help fund campaigns, provide testimony, and get members to work for candidates, and some form Political Action Committees (PACs)

Political Action Committees

A committee set up by a corporation, labor union, or interest group that raises and spends campaign money from voluntary donations

Union Shop

A provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join the union within a short period, usually 30 days, and to remain members as a condition of employment

Right-To-Work Laws

A state law forbidding requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs; state right-to-work laws were specifically permitted by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947

Public Interest Lobbies

According to Jeffery Berry, organizations that seek "a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership of activities of the organization"